The present invention relates to sensor assemblies and methods of collecting data. More particularly, the present invention relates to assemblies and methods for obtaining operational data regarding a gas turbine engine.
Traditionally, data regarding the components of a gas turbine engine is gathered in a piecemeal fashion, before the engine is assembled for operation. Operating characteristics of the engine are estimated from pre-operational component data. A disadvantage of this approach is that these estimations may vary from actual values under operating conditions. However, it is desired to obtain operational data from a gas turbine engine in a fully operational state. An impediment to achieving such desired data collection is the difficulty in mounting a suitable sensor apparatus on a gas turbine engine in a manner that does not adversely affect engine operation. A sensor apparatus that adversely affects engine operation can lead to engine damage and can distort or otherwise affect the data collected. For example, cooling the sensor apparatus may disrupt cooling oil flows to bearings located adjacent to the data collection apparatus, which can undesirably affect engine performance as well as sensed engine data.